Brands’
biography is a mostly positive depiction of America’s 32nd
President. Born in 1882, Roosevelt was raised in a world of wealth and privilege.He grew up near presidential power, being a
cousin to Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt, America’s 26th
President. His mother, Sara Ann Delano
Roosevelt was
possessive and at times domineering.

In 1905
Roosevelt married his cousin, Eleanor
Roosevelt. In 1918, Eleanor discovered
that Franklin was having an affair. Afterward, she went on to have her own extramarital
relationships and the marriage become more of a partnership. Eleanor’s life is
in itself a fascinating story and Brands spends a good deal of pages exploring
it.

Roosevelt
worked his way up though both elected and appointed State and Federal
government as well as Democratic Party positions. After an unsuccessful bid for
Vice President in 1920, he contracted polio. The disease left him unable to
walk without artificial aids for the remainder of his life.

Undeterred
by the disability, Roosevelt was elected Governor of New York in 1929. After
the onset of the Great Depression, he was well positioned for a Presidential
victory in 1932. It is surprising that this great reformer was elected under a
relatively conservative platform.

President
Roosevelt shepherded America though the Great Depression. His “New Deal” was a
series of laws that fundamentally changed the United States and still resounds
into present times. Later, he was a key architect of the Allied victory in the
Second World War.

Brands’ book
is often very detailed. He provides a vivid account of Roosevelt’s life and career.
The New Deal legislation, as well as the men who helped Roosevelt to design and
implement it, are covered in intricate depth. The years leading up to and
through World War II are similarly explored.

This book is
not without some weaknesses, however. I found it slightly frustrating that, for
all its attention to detail, in some aspects this biography seems to skim over
key details and provides a weak analysis of certain important controversies and
topics.

For
instance, there is a somewhat heated debate these days concerning whether or
not Roosevelt’s policies ended and/or ameliorated the Depression. Brands skirts
around this issue. He does provide accounts of various Roosevelt Administration
officials’ opinions and analyses of this question, but fails to provide
detailed statistics or economic or objective political analysis to help
understand it. In the book’s conclusion, Brands devotes a few paragraphs to the
subject but I would have appreciated a little more space dedicated earlier on
to the issue.

A similar
treatment is accorded to the argument, which I call a myth, that in 1945 during
the Yalta conference between Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin, that Roosevelt
somehow gave away Eastern Europe to the Soviet Union. Brands does explain
Roosevelt’s actions at the conference in a positive light and hints at the
controversy. I feel that there was room for a more in-depth analysis here as
well.

Likewise,
Brands poorly handles what was the darkest moment of the Roosevelt
administration, the treatment of Japanese Americans during World War II. After
the Japanese attack upon Pearl Harbor, Americans of Japanese descent, who were born
in the United States and who were American citizens, were rounded up and placed
into camps for the duration of the war. To add insult to injury, most of these
people had their homes, businesses and farms stolen by opportunistic neighbors
who took advantage of their fellow citizens’ misfortune. This outrage, directly
approved by Roosevelt, was one of the most egregious violations of the rights
of American citizens during the twentieth century. To my surprise, Brands devotes
only a few pages to this reprehensible, unconstitutional act. Furthermore,
while conceding that it was prompted by hysteria, Brands almost excuses
Roosevelt’s decisions here as occurring under the pressures of war.

Regardless
of these flaws, this is a solid account of Roosevelt and his life. The author
clearly portrays the fact that this President was one of the key makers of the
modern world. In the first days of his administration, Roosevelt took steps to
forestall the collapse of the American banking system. This bold and decisive
action may vary well have staved off a revolution in the United States (my
contention, not Brands’s). His New Deal Legislation changed the way that people
throughout the world thought of government. These policies expanded the size
and scope of government to unprecedented levels. It was characterized by
massive public works projects, the American Social Security system, and
government regulations in an entire host of areas such as finance, monetary
policy, labor relations, etc. Roosevelt
did not invent many of these initiatives; he did, however, put them together
into a package to forge what I would describe as a modern capitalistic
democracy with a government aimed at promoting the social good. Twenty-first
century democratic nations throughout the world are in part the legacy of
Roosevelt’s policies.

If helping
to invent the modern industrial and post industrial democracy was not enough, Roosevelt
played a key, and I would argue the most important role, of any individual in
defeating the Axis as well as shaping the postwar geo-political world. Well
before America’s entry into the Second World War, Roosevelt focused the massive
industrial production of the United States towards defeating the Axis. From
1937 on, Roosevelt began implementing a political and industrial strategy aimed
at supplying Great Britain, China and the Soviet Union with massive military
aid. This material assistance certainly changed the course of the war and
allowed these nations to hang on against the Axis onslaught. Simultaneously, he
maneuvered the United States into a policy of confrontation with Germany, Italy
and Japan. By the time the war broke out, conflict between the United States
and the Axis powers was inevitable. Of course, after the United States’ entry
into the war, Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin were the prime movers of allied
strategy that led to the eventual defeat of the Axis. Though he did not live to
see the post war world, he was instrumental in creating much of it. He championed
the founding of the United Nations and firmly established the concept of an
active and engaged American foreign policy that so affected the globe in the
ensuing decades.

I must admit
that I cannot discuss Roosevelt without being a little defensive. Though I certainly
recognize the man’s shortcomings and believe that, like most major world
leaders, he did some terrible things, I have an admiration as well as a little
bit of a defense instinct for this President. This protective tendency on my
part is the result of living at a time and in a nation where Roosevelt’s
reputation as well as legacy are under attack by forces of the political far right.
I must agree with Brands’ comment regarding the critics of the time,

“the objective and honest of those
who had once denounced Roosevelt for class betrayal recognized that in a decade
rife with fascists, militarists, and communists abroad and irresponsible
demagogues at home, he was the best thing that could have happened to them."

If one wants
to understand the modern world and how it got to be the way it is, then one must
understand Roosevelt and his administration. It can be argued that this man was
the most influential person of the twentieth century. As a student of history,
despite Roosevelt’s defects, I am in awe of his accomplishments. Though it is
difficult to say for certain how history would otherwise have played out, the
world may look very, very different today had he not become the American
President in 1932. This book is an informative and relatively complete account
of his life and accomplishments.

As much as you love Roosevelt, I can hear your ambivalence about the author's approach in your review. To me, it almost seems like the author had a far greater book in his mind that didn't make it down on the paper or, perhaps, his editor did not share his enthusiasm for Roosevelt and something was lost in the editing. This all equals up to disappointment for the close reader. As an aside, I love Eleanor and can never get enough on her. Do you think that in today's society she and FDR would have divorced? She always seems to me that she has lesbian traits (not that there's anything wrong with that).

Nice review! I can see why FDR is under attack - the US seems to have moved a long way to the right since his day. If some people are calling a mild, centrist president like Barack Obama a socialist, they must foam at the mouth when thinking of FDR :-)

I agree with you totally. If you follow American political trends over the past thirty years, what was centrist a few years ago is now considered extremely liberal. What is called centrist today is was conservative a few years ago. Conservatives today would be unrecognizable even to Ronald Reagan.

Hi Belle - Not sure if the Roosevelt's would have divorced or not today. In some limited ways their relationship had some similarities with the Clintons. This books indicates that they came very close to divorce.

This book made it pretty clear that after she discovered FDR's affair, Eleanor had affairs with other women. Interesting as per this book FDR seemed to have cared less and even encouraged the relationships.

I do not know if it was lack of enthusiasm on Brand's part. More of a hesitancy to analyze some of the big controversies.

To be perfectly fair, it is decidedly unfair to discuss any president (or world leader) with broad strokes. Every president has done terrible things and one has to take the sentiment at the time into account. For example, the early presidents owned slaves, but they cannot be held accountable for that given the mores of the time.

I remember reading a fascinating biography of Harry Truman a few years back and if there was ever a president that came down on both sides of the fence, it was he.

These days, at least in America there is a lot of negative views expressed about him from some.

Well, like you I've heard that the New Deal wasn't as amazing as legend would have us believe, but that it actually widened the recession. Of course, one must take into the account the need to discredit socialism these days. It's hard to know who to trust in these things.

Hey Miguel - My opinion on the entire "Did Roosevelt End the Depression" issue is a little complex is as follows.

1 - When he came in he stopped a catastrophic slide that would heave led the US into chaos and perhaps Revolution.

2 - His policies initially did bring down Unemployment and the US began to recover. Too early into the recovery he went conservative too early and attempted to balance the budget by cutting spending. Thus the US slipped back into high unemployment and the Depression did not really end.

3 - He brought desperately needed relief to those suffering from the economic downslide as a result of his social programs.

I'm afarid I'm not that interested in politicians although I'm interested in history. My belief is that there can never be a good politician, in the moral sense, because what the character traits which are needed to want to become a politician already prevent that.

Hi Caroline - There is some truth to what you say.However I think certain politicians have helped advance human progress and well being. In certain cases in a major way. There are also situations where politicians have shown amazing courage.

With the above said all have used at least some deception. However it takes all kinds to make the world work.

I think FDR is much admired around the world - he provided fantastic leadership when the world needed it. I don't think anyone fully understood at the time quite what the consequences of Yalta would be - and in any case, when world leaders meet to carve up a post-world war solution there have to be compromises on all sides. Russia had a position of some power in any case having driven the GErmans back to Berlin. Sounds like a great read

Interesting review. I am an FDR fan, and I actually have a real problem with the title of the book and the premise that because FDR's administrations implemented federal programs that led the USA out of the Depression that he was a sellout to his "class." As the daughter of immigrants who left the UK after WWII because of the rigidness of the class structure, FDR was always held up as a shining example of how person of wealth and privilege should behave towards those less fortunate.

Hi Jane - I think that the title of the book is actually a little ironic. Kind of like the way a person or group will p[playfully take on the words that a critic uses against their enemies. One of the points of this work was that FDR policies ultimately benefitted capitalism.

It's interesting to look at history through different lenses. :) I have a different perspective on World War II history, seeing as how NZ and Australia fought for the British Empire. This is an interesting article about what happened between American and Australian troops during World War II. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Brisbane On the other hand, my great aunt met a GI and moved to the US as a war bride. :)

I'm not sure I would give Roosevelt credit for being the most influential person in the twentieth century. I think HH the Dalai Lama was pretty influential. :)

Hi Violet - One can focus on many details and legitimately see these things differently. Imagine how a Japanese American who was put into a camp feels about Roosevelt.

As for the most influential person there really are many contenders. I knew a bit about the Dalai Lama but my knowledge general and superficial. I suspect that you know more then I in order to award him that distinction.

WOW. What an in-depth analysis of this book!! Fascinating! I don't know that much about Roosevelt, except for the fact that he created the New Deal, and was unfaithful to his wife, who was a great personality in her own right. (I also didn't know that she, too, had affairs, after she found out about his. Even though I don't like infidelity, I think it serves him right!! )

I also had no idea Roosevelt was involved with the rounding up of American citizens who just happened to be descendants of Japanese immigrants, and having them placed in concentration camps!! UGH. This type of thing would be termed 'racial profiling'' nowadays. Inexcusable behavior!!

In spite of the flaws you've pointed out, I'll put this book on my TBR shelf at Goodreads. I should definitely be reading more biographies and memooirs!

Hey Maria - The thing about Eleanor Roosevelt was that she was a very faithful and devoted wife until she discovered FDR's affairs.After that their marriage really was only a partnership and a platonic friendship. As per this book FDR knew about her affairs and acted like he could care less.

The thing with the Japanese Americans was indeed terrible. A few years ago I believe that survivors were paid compensation by the US government.